Sugar-cane mill



Jan. 25, 1944. H. J. B. SCHARNBERG 2,340,223

suma CANE MILL Filed June 9, @941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DECEHSE'D. Man's scnnnnamq Exscumox.

2 1944;, H. .1. B. SCHARNBERG 2,349,228

' SUGAR CANE MILL Filed June 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES sNT OFFICE SUGAR-CAN E MILL Scharnberg Application June 9, 1941, Serial No. 397,345

4 Claims.

The invention relates to a sugar cane mill and more partiiularly to a thrust bearing, block or unit adapted for use therewith.

An object of the invention is the provision of a thrust block or hearing in connection with a top roll of a sugar cane mill which is of an antifriction type and capable of permitting the top roll to move freely in a vertical fixed predetermined path.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an adjustable element or means in a sugar cane mill so that a horizontal adjustment of a top roll hearing may be effected to compensate for wear during service.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thrust block or bearing capable of self-adjustment in a direction vertically of a sugar cane mill to accommodate forces to which it will be subjected in service.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the succeeding description, considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a vertical side view of a sugar cane mill embodying an exemplified form of the present invention and illustrated partially in elevation and partially in section to more clearly illustrate the relation and association of parts.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the lines 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional View showing in more detail a portion of the mill embodying the present invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts, the numeral l is employed to designate, in a general manner, a sugar cane mill having a top roll 2, a feed roll 3 and a discharge or bagasse roll 4, the axes of which are parallel and triangularly arranged or disposed. In service, sugar cane is passed through the space characterized by the letter A between the top roll and the feed roll, and upon reaching the turn plate 5, interposed between the feed and bagasse rolls in lower spaced relation to the top roll, is directed toward and passes through the opening between the top roll and the bagasse roll indicated by the letter B. It will be noted that the space A is greater than the opening B so that sugar cane may be initially compressed to extract part of the juice therefrom upon passing through the space A and reduce the volume of the cane. The sugar cane is then, by reason of the turn plate, directed through the more restricted opening B to obtain a greater extraction of the juice from the cane. Since the sugar can is denser upon passing through the smaller opening B then upon passing trough the larger space A, a greater crushing force is exerted by the top roll and bagasse roll.

Associated with the top roll is a lower segmental brass t: stationary with respect to a supporting mill housing I and forming a cradle or contacting surface or area for the bottom half of a top roll journal 8. A top segmental brass 9 is superimposed upon the upper half of the journal and bears upon the journal to complete the means for maintaining the journal and top roll in an initial predetermined position. The top 'roll is, during service, subjected to forces which make it advisable to permit the top roll to move vertically within a fixed range and so as to maintain a fixed pressure at a given top roll elevation, the top roll bearing is surmounted with a cap or plate 50 which, in turn, forms a seat for a downwardly or vertically acting hydraulic or any desired force resisting means H.

Since greater crushing forces are exerted on a line joining the axes of the top and bagasse rolls the forces tending to lift the top roll from the lower segmental brass are not acting ina purely vertical direction or plane but rather the component of the crushing forces acts in an inclined plane in a sloping direction toward the feed extremity of the mill. This force component, therefore, will create thrust forces acting upon the upper brass, tending to urge it laterally of the mill and toward the feed extremity thereof. Since the upper brass is arranged to move away from the lower brass, means has been provided to eliminate any frictional forces or drag acting upon contacting surfaces of the upper brass and any means or elements arranged to guide it in its vertical movement or throughout its range of movement. Consideration has also been given to guiding the upper bearing and its associated journal in a true vertical direction so as not to create any abnormal stresses in the related and associated parts. Toward the attainment of the above there is provided a front follower l2 disposed toward the center of the sugar mill Within a correspondingly formed or accommodating aperture or pocket It in the housing. The front follower is also arranged and free to move in a vertical direction in response to forces transmitted thereto by the journal and has, therefore, a forward vertical plane face I 4 forming an abutment for correspondingly disposed faces l5 and on the upper brass and cap respectively.

An adjusting means It, to be more clearly described hereinafter, is positioned within the pocket I3 adjacent the feed extremity of the mill and bears or reacts horizontally against a housing end wall ll which defines one of the outer limits of the pocket. The adjusting means and the front followers have facing recesses it which present confronting desirably parallel and horizontally spaced inner faces 18 extending-in a vertical and transverse plane and presenting smooth abutment surfaces. Positioned within the pockets is a series of rollers or plates l9 separated by spacer means 20 which may be of any desired composition or material so long as it is capable of maintaining the plates in spaced relation. Extending through the plates and interposed spacer means is a plurality of bolts or keys 2| which maintain the plates and spacer means in assembled relation so that they may be inserted or removed as a unit. It will here be noted that the plates or rollers are flexibly connected to facilitate relative movement therebetween. The plates, which are of a length a trifle less than the distance between pocket defining spaced side wa1ls22 or the length of the accommodating pocket, have their transverse edges 23 formed cylindn'cal or convex and extending within the recesses l8. The axes of the surfaces are exactly midway between the transverse edges thereof to make the convex surfaces of each plate coaxial. In effect, therefore, each plate resembles a central section of a true cylinder and has its arcuate surfaces in bearing relation with the confronting plane faces iB Upon any lifting forces being applied to the top roll so as to urge the journal thereof in a direction at an angle to the vertical away from the lower brass, the top segmental brass and cap will, by reason of the frictional forces acting upon the contiguous faces l8 and i5l5 carry the front follower I2 along therewith. Since the plates l9 are cylindrically formed it will be noted that any movement of the journal and its related structure away from the position illustrated will be in a vertical direction only, permitting the cap to react against the force resisting means without setting up any abnormal stresses in any of the related elements. Also, it will be noted that by reason of the cylindrical surfaces there will be no retarding frictional resistance or drag between the various component parts illustrated. It may be timely to here state that during service a considerable amount of cane juice squirts or finds its way into the area occupied by the thrust block orbearing. and further that when the mill is washed down water also finds its way into the above referred to area with the result that the plates or rollers may become rusted or corrugated and pitted. For this reason, therefore, the large rollers prevent the arouate extremities thereof from becoming embedded in the confronting surface l8.

During the lifetime of a sugar mill it becomes necessary at times to make slight adjustments to the thrust block or bearing so that the journal may be retained in a predetermined position and made to travel in a true vertical path upon the application of any lifting forces thereto. Accordingly, there has been provided an adjusting ranged inner face.

means l6 interposed between the flat plate-like rollers and the housing end wall 11. to compensate for any wear which may result in the component parts from continued use and in order to make any transverse adjustments which may from time to time become necessary. The adjusting means comprises an inner face carrying horizontally movable abutment block or rear follower 2d having a rear face 25 thereofvertically disposed and substantially parallel with the oppositely ar- Spaced from the movable abutment horizontally therefrom is a stationary wedge or key 28 which is provided with a plane vertical and transverse surface 2? bearing against a correspondingly disposed surface 28 on the housing end wall. The stationary wedge also has an inclined orltapered surface 29 diverging from the surface 21 in a direction outwardly and vertically of the pocket. Interposed between the stationary wedge 26 and horizontally movable abutment block 24 is a vertically movable wedge 30 presenting a plane surface 3| in intimate contact with" the abutment block rear face and an inclined or tapered surface 32 extending in the same direction as and contiguous with the stationary wedge inclined surface.

From the above it' will be noted that a downward movement of the movable wedge will result in the abutment block 24 being capable of moving toward the housing end wall to increase the distance between the front and rear follower confronting faces, while an upward action of the movable wedge will shorten or diminish the distance between the front and rear followers. Due to the gradual inclination of thetapered contiguous surfaces very slight and minute adjustments may be made in the thrust bearing, block orunit. A guide plate 33 is secured to a pocket defining bottom wall 34 so that the abutment block or rear follower 24 may be retained in a predetermined elevation.

The adjusting means is retained in a predetermined position by means of an overlying anchor or cover plate 35 which spans or bridges the distance between the housing side walls and is removably secured thereto by means of machine bolts or screws 36. No holding or connecting means is provided between the cover plate and the rear follower and stationary wedge since these last named lements are interposed between the vertically disposed guide and anchor plates as well as between the horizontally spaced rollers and housing end wall. Means has been provided to shift the movable wedge from its illustrated position in a vertical direction, and for the accomplishment of this purpose the anchor plate has, in substantial longitudinal alignment, a series of apertures 31 and 38, the former of which accommodate lifting set screws 39 extending through the anchor plate andthreaded into the upper extremity of the movable wedge. The lifting screws have rotatable means or nuts associated with their free extremities which bear upon the anchor plate to hold the movable wedge in a predetermined elevation. Since a vertical action of the movable wedge will result in a horizontal shifting of the set screws the accommodating apertures 31 are formed as slots to facilitate the compound movement of the screws. The apertures 38 are interiorly threaded to accommodate exteriorly threaded holding set screws it which have their lower extremities in bearing relation with the movable wedge to prevent an unwarranted movement thereof in an upward direction. Locking nuts' ll are associate'd with'the holding and lifting screws so that after the proper adjustments have been made the movable wedge may be firmly and securely held in place without a subsequent accidental or unwarranted shifting thereof.

From an inspection of the drawings and the above description thereof it will be noted that various changes and alterations may be made thereto without departing from within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a thrust bearing having a fixed element and a movable element spaced therefrom, means interposed between said elements for transmitting a bearing force component from the movable element to the fixed element while permitting the movable element to move in a direction transversely of the direction of the bearing force component, said means comprising a plurality of plates, each of said plates having a pair of opposed convex edges adapted to rollingly engage said elements, spaced means for maintaining said plates in spaced apart parallel relation, and means for retaining said plates and said spaced means in assembled relation.

2. In a thrust bearing having a fixed element and a movable element spaced therefrom, means interposed between said elements for transmitting a bearing force component from the movable element to the fixed element while permitting the movable element to move in a direction transversely of the direction of the bearing force component, said means comprising a plurality of plates, each of said plates having a pair of opposed convex edges adapted to rollingly engage said elements, means interposed between said plates for maintaining said plates in parallel rela- 35 Herman J. B. Scharnberg,

tion, and means for retaining said plates and said last named means in assembled relation.

3. In a thrust bearing having a fixed element and a movable element spaced therefrom, means interposed between said elements for transmitting a bearing force component from the movable element to the fixed element While permitting the movable element to move in a direction angularly of the direction of the bearing force component, said means comprising a plurality of plates, each of said plates having a pair of opposed convex edges adapted to rollingly engage said elements, means for maintaining said plates in parallel relation, means for retaining said plates and said last named means in assembled relation, and adjusting means associated with said fixed element for moving the latter toward said movable element.

4. In a thrust bearing having a fixed element and a movable element spaced therefrom, means interposed between said elements for transmitting a bearing force component from the movable ele- "ment to the fixed element while permitting the movable element to move in a direction angularly of the direction of the bearing force component, said means comprising a plurality of plates, each of said plates having a pair of opposed concentric, convex edges adapted to rollingly engage said elements, means for maintaining said plates in substantially parallel relation, and means for retaining said plates and said last named means in assembled relation.

MARIE M SCHARNBERG, Executriz of the Last Will and Testament of Deceased. 

